Left to right, top to bottom: Downtown Shaoguan from across the Bei River, street scene in central Shaoguan, Shaoyang Tower, the Pagoda of Sixi Temple, aerial view of the city
Location of Shaoguan City jurisdiction in Guangdong
Shaoguan is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong Province (Yuebei), South China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth ZenBuddhist patriarch Huineng. Its built-up (or metro) area made up of Zhenjiang, Wujiang and Qujiang urban conurbated districts was home to 1,028,460 inhabitants as of the 2020 census.[3]
History
Shaozhou or Seochew was a prefecture under the Tang and Song.
In 1589, Matteo Ricci relocated his mission house – the first ever Jesuit mission in mainland China – to Shaoguan after a fallout with the authorities in Zhaoqing. He remained in Shaoguan for a few years, eventually benefiting from Shaoguan's location on the important north–south travel route to establish connections with traveling dignitaries that allowed him to move north, to Nanchang, Nanjing, and Beijing.[4]
During World War II the city, then called Kukong, was the temporary capital of Guangdong Province.
Shaoguan is the northernmost prefecture-level city of Guangdong, bordering Chenzhou (Hunan) to the northwest and north, Ganzhou (Jiangxi) to the northeast, Heyuan to the east, Guangzhou and Huizhou to the south, and Qingyuan to the west. It spans latitude 23° 53'−25° 31' N and longitude 112° 53'−114° 45' E.[5] It is situated at the southern end of the Nan Mountains (Nan Ling), which primarily run east–west here, and is marked by numerous erosion-created valleys; within its borders lies the 1,902 m (6,240 ft) Mount Shikeng (石坑崆), the highest point in the province. The city is located on the Jingguang Railway (Beijing−Guangzhou) about 221 kilometres (137 mi) north of the provincial capital of Guangzhou. Shaoguan is also readily accessible by road as it is adjacent to the G4 Beijing–Hong Kong and Macau Expressway as well as numerous other National Highways.
At Shaoguan, the Wu River from the northwest and the Zhen River from the northeast join up to create the North River (Bei Jiang) which flows south to Guangzhou. The downtown part of Shaoguan is located on a peninsula between the Wu and Zhen Rivers. The rivers are maintained at a constant level by a dam about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) downstream from the city. The city has about 20 kilometres (12 mi) of tree-lined riverside esplanades along the banks of the rivers. There are seven bridges crossing the three rivers.
Climate
Shaoguan has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (KöppenCfa), with short, mild, damp winters, rainy springs, long, hot, and humid summers, and relatively sunny autumns. Due to the city's location far inland, winters are significantly cooler than in the rest of the province, with freezing rain possible in the nearby mountain passes in some years. Winter begins dry and relatively sunny but becomes progressively cloudier and damper. Spring is the cloudiest and wettest season, with the sun shining less than 30% of the time. The annual rainfall is around 1,600 mm (63 in), much of it delivered from April thru June. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 10.3 °C (50.5 °F) in January to 29.0 °C (84.2 °F) in July; the annual mean is 20.5 °C (68.9 °F). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 16% in March to 54% in July, the city receives 1,617 hours of bright sunshine annually.
Climate data for Shaoguan (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–2010)
The Fengcai Tower (风采楼) in the centre of Shaoguan was built in the Ming dynasty. To the south of the tower, at the other end of a pedestrian shopping street, the Dajian Monastery was founded in 660.
Danxia Mountain is located in Renhua County, Shaoguan.
Northwest of Shaoguan, at the town of Pingshi, a stretch of river known as the Nine Torrents and Eighteen Shoals is a popular place for white-water rafting.
The main languages spoken are Hakka and Shaozhou Tuhua, related to Ping Chinese. Shaozhounese is spoken in Shaozhou city and Hakka (mainly Yetpet and Seunan dialects) are spoken in neighboring counties.
Notable people:
Zhang, Jiu Ling (張九齡): a high-ranking official of the Tang dynasty. (A.D. 618–A.D. 1127)
Yu, Jing (余靖): a high-ranking official of the northern Song dynasty. (A.D 960–A.D. 1127)
Chu, Siu Hung (朱韶洪): Hong Kong social activist
Regina Ho Yee Ting (何依婷): winner of 2017 Miss Hong Kong pageant, also an actress of Hong Kong
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